The news can surprise. Somalia is the first African country concerning the price of internet data. According to a world ranking of the cost of one gigabit of data, realized by the British telecommunication group Cable, it is the country of the east part of the Horn of Africa that trusts the first African place (0.50$) and the 7th places in the world. It is followed by Sudan (13th, 0.63$) and Algeria (15th, 0.65$), India (0.09$) leading the world. The North Africa region, made up of seven countries situated in the north of the Sahara, is the area of the world where internet data are less expensive (2.06$), far ahead of North America where one GB of data costs 14.71$ in average. The study reveals that 8 of the 50 first countries of the ranking are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
22% of internauts against 49% in the world
That being said, Africa stays far behind others concerning internet access, with 22% of internauts in Sub-Saharan Africa, against a world average of 49% (81% in Europe and 77% in North America). In that 22%, only 7% have access to 4G... Figures could be larger if North Africa, where 55% of people are connected, was incorporated in Africa's number and not with the Middle East. According to the World Bank, Africa needs 100 billion dollars of investments to connect its population before 2030.
Madagascar, African champion of speed connexion
Another report published by Cable in August put Madagascar as the first African country for speed connexion in 2020, with an average 32.07 Mbps speed. That speed places the country at the 33rd world ranking, ahead of developed countries like Great-Britain or Australia. This is due to the submarine cables system installed in Eastern Africa, which provides urban centers of the island fiber broadband connection.
Next, come Cape Verde, Seychelles, Ghana, South Africa, Gabon, Liberia, Mauritius, and Senegal. Rich countries are not the best in those rankings concerning the Internet. It is important to note that Uganda, Rwanda, Namibia, Tunisia, Morocco, and Kenya were part of the first 50 rankings last year but not anymore, their performance has deteriorated in the meantime.
